Lyons: Waiting for discipline against doctor to stick

Published: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 10:44 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, December 8, 2012 at 10:44 p.m.

Last time I reported that the State Board of Medicine permanently revoked Dr. Leonard A. Rubinstein's medical license, a disappointing thing happened.

He kept practicing.

The Sarasota doctor — an ear, nose, throat, tummy-tuck and anti-aging skin-care specialist, etc., etc., had survived multiple previous disciplinary actions for a litany of problems, including performing unnecessary tests and procedures and running false ads about his medical credentials.

There had been fines and probation and required ethics classes, and even monitoring by another doctor assigned to check on whether he was again ripping off patients or doing unneeded procedures or falsifying medical records.

The complaints kept on coming in, to me and to the state. But it had long seemed like he'd have to do surgery with a rusty tire iron to actually lose his license. Heck, I started writing about him in 1993, and was amazed many times at how long the state's frequent investigations of Rubinstein took. And each time, Rubinstein — who is also a local stage actor — suffered various sanctions but was allowed to keep operating his much-advertised medical business.

Most people who became his patients had no clue about the disciplinary actions. They just saw the wonderful advertisements that made him sound like a giant of the medical profession, not a guy who didn't even have surgery privileges at local hospitals.

So it had seemed like a really big day when I reported in April of 2011 that Rubinstein, at long last, had been barred from practicing in Florida. The state Board of Medicine had revoked his license.

Problem was, people who felt ripped off by the doctor started letting me know that Rubinstein had not closed his doors, or, anyway, not for long. He had immediately filed an appeal in the court system. To my surprise, he was allowed to keep practicing as that legal wrangling continued.

I reported that, and waited.

The District Court of Appeal has finally issued its ruling.

"We received copies of the mandate in today's mail," said Ashley Carr, a Florida Department of Health spokeswoman, on Friday.

"The license now reflects revocation," she said.

That's bureaucrat-speak, meaning that Rubinstein's license is permanently deceased unless something happens. Something like, say, another appeal and another decision from some court that allows Rubinstein to keep practicing while that one drags on.

I'm betting that won't happen this time.

But even so, I fear Rubinstein will stay in the medical biz, and keep using those pretty ads showing beautiful bodies and the faces of models he only wishes he could operate on.

Though no one answered the phone there when I called, his Center For Integration in Cosmetic Surgery website still portrayed him on Friday as the M.D. there. That will have to stop, I assume. Maybe he will even have to remove his claim that he "revolutionized the cosmetic surgery world," though I wouldn't count on it.

But he might just hire a doctor or two and move himself full time into marketing and sales. No one can deny he his skill at that.

I'm sure when website visitors click on "Our staff in the media," they'll still see no hints of Herald-Tribune reports describing Board of Medicine findings of bad diagnoses that ignored expensive test results, treatments that way overdid it or made no sense, and other forms of patient exploitation.

But I'll bet they will still see that Rubinstein smile and his oh-so-nice slogan: "Wellness and beauty from the inside out."

It only sounds creepy if you know about his medical history.

Tom Lyons can be contacted at tom.lyons@heraldtribune.com or (941) 361-4964.

<p>Last time I reported that the State Board of Medicine permanently revoked Dr. Leonard A. Rubinstein's medical license, a disappointing thing happened.</p><p>He kept practicing.</p><p>The Sarasota doctor — an ear, nose, throat, tummy-tuck and anti-aging skin-care specialist, etc., etc., had survived multiple previous disciplinary actions for a litany of problems, including performing unnecessary tests and procedures and running false ads about his medical credentials.</p><p>There had been fines and probation and required ethics classes, and even monitoring by another doctor assigned to check on whether he was again ripping off patients or doing unneeded procedures or falsifying medical records.</p><p>The complaints kept on coming in, to me and to the state. But it had long seemed like he'd have to do surgery with a rusty tire iron to actually lose his license. Heck, I started writing about him in 1993, and was amazed many times at how long the state's frequent investigations of Rubinstein took. And each time, Rubinstein — who is also a local stage actor — suffered various sanctions but was allowed to keep operating his much-advertised medical business.</p><p>Most people who became his patients had no clue about the disciplinary actions. They just saw the wonderful advertisements that made him sound like a giant of the medical profession, not a guy who didn't even have surgery privileges at local hospitals.</p><p>So it had seemed like a really big day when I reported in April of 2011 that Rubinstein, at long last, had been barred from practicing in Florida. The state Board of Medicine had revoked his license.</p><p>Problem was, people who felt ripped off by the doctor started letting me know that Rubinstein had not closed his doors, or, anyway, not for long. He had immediately filed an appeal in the court system. To my surprise, he was allowed to keep practicing as that legal wrangling continued.</p><p>I reported that, and waited.</p><p>The District Court of Appeal has finally issued its ruling.</p><p>"We received copies of the mandate in today's mail," said Ashley Carr, a Florida Department of Health spokeswoman, on Friday.</p><p>"The license now reflects revocation," she said.</p><p>That's bureaucrat-speak, meaning that Rubinstein's license is permanently deceased unless something happens. Something like, say, another appeal and another decision from some court that allows Rubinstein to keep practicing while that one drags on.</p><p>I'm betting that won't happen this time. </p><p>But even so, I fear Rubinstein will stay in the medical biz, and keep using those pretty ads showing beautiful bodies and the faces of models he only wishes he could operate on.</p><p>Though no one answered the phone there when I called, his Center For Integration in Cosmetic Surgery website still portrayed him on Friday as the M.D. there. That will have to stop, I assume. Maybe he will even have to remove his claim that he "revolutionized the cosmetic surgery world," though I wouldn't count on it.</p><p>But he might just hire a doctor or two and move himself full time into marketing and sales. No one can deny he his skill at that.</p><p>I'm sure when website visitors click on "Our staff in the media," they'll still see no hints of Herald-Tribune reports describing Board of Medicine findings of bad diagnoses that ignored expensive test results, treatments that way overdid it or made no sense, and other forms of patient exploitation.</p><p>But I'll bet they will still see that Rubinstein smile and his oh-so-nice slogan: "Wellness and beauty from the inside out." </p><p>It only sounds creepy if you know about his medical history.</p><p></p><p><i></p><p>Tom Lyons can be contacted at tom.lyons@heraldtribune.com or (941) 361-4964.</i></p>